Karlshausen lies in the Southern Eifel Nature Park, surrounded by gentle hills and dense forests. The village also offers two special points of interest for those interested in cultural history: St. Bartholomew’s Parish Church and a wayside chapel featuring reused dressed stone. The landscape and architectural history offer different focuses to consider when planning your trip.
Nature and events in Karlshausen
There are numerous hiking trails through the varied landscape of the Southern Eifel around Karlshausen. For those interested in the rural surroundings, these offer a different perspective on the village from exploring its historic buildings. The trails and churches represent different themes that you can consider when planning your stay.
The annual summer parade of the carnival association is a well-known regional event. If you would like to plan your trip around it, check the date for the relevant year.
St. Bartholomew’s Parish Church: architecture and furnishings
St. Bartholomew’s Parish Church is a four-bay hall church built in 1861. Its exterior has a solid, classical appearance. Mostly pointed-arch openings, buttresses and reinforced corners also introduce Neo-Gothic elements. The overall effect and the details offer different ways to appreciate the building’s architecture.
A church in Karlshausen is documented in records as early as 1348 and 1389. These two dates reach further back into the village’s history than the 1861 parish church and provide an early point of reference for Karlshausen’s ecclesiastical history.
The chancel of the parish church features a light-looking groin or rib vault, and its Neo-Gothic furnishings are largely preserved. The gallery holds an 18th-century organ that did not originate in Karlshausen. The south wall also bears the gravestone of Pastor Johann Baptist Scheler, who died in 1818. The slate cross depicts a chalice and host in low relief on its shaft—a sign of a priest’s grave.
The wayside chapel and its older architectural elements
A rectangular wayside chapel stands on the eastern edge of the village. It was built in 1861 after the late Gothic parish church was demolished. Its purpose was to preserve the chancel-vault dressed stones and a tracery window within a new structure. Building elements bearing the date 1547 were also reused.
Inside, the chapel has a star vault based on a Bohemian cap vault. The star vault was reconstructed from old dressed stones, with heraldic cartouches at its junctions. A large keystone depicts the German emperor. The parish church and wayside chapel thus offer different points of interest: the former is a hall church with Neo-Gothic furnishings, while the latter combines older building elements with a reconstructed vault.
More places to explore in the Eifelkreis Bitburg-PrĂĽm
The wider travel destination of Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm has other distinctive attractions. The Mühlenberger Stollen Bleialf visitor mine includes a mining trail with numerous information boards about the area’s mining history. One-hour guided tours cover ore mining in Bleialf, from geology to applied technology. Check current tour and seasonal dates before planning your visit.
The Devonium in Waxweiler presents complex concepts in palaeontology and the science of fossil life in an engaging way. The Westwall Museum houses a military history exhibition across three accessible levels of a bunker, as well as in underground passageways and rooms.
Another attraction in Eifelkreis Bitburg-PrĂĽm is Rittersdorf Moated Castle. It is around 700 years old, has remained virtually unchanged since it was built, and offers a glimpse of late medieval and modern Renaissance residential culture. The castle has a privately run restaurant serving fine country cuisine. Check whether the restaurant is open before your trip.
Discover more destinations: Niedersgegen, Emmelbaum, Körperich, Nusbaum, Gemünd, Heilbach, Rodershausen, Nasingen.
Back to the main travel overview: Neuerburg.
